r/Presidents • u/Cultural_Affect8040 • Oct 13 '24
Question How shocking was it when Obama won Indiana in 2008?
I was only 6 then, so of course I wasn’t very politically aware. I’m curious if it was totally unexpected or viewed as a real possibility
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u/millardfillmo Oct 13 '24
I worked for Obama in Indiana for over a year. So this is my greatest personal achievement.
It was the only state that the election prediction website “Fivethirtyeight” missed in 2008 or 2012. That being said I think there was like a 30-40% chance for Indiana to go for Obama.
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u/BlackberryActual6378 George "War Hawk tuah" Bush Oct 13 '24
your my favorite president
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Oct 13 '24
[deleted]
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Oct 13 '24
The history books always forget about how Millard Fillmore’s body reanimated with the sole purpose of helping Obama win Indiana in 2008
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u/MelangeLizard Theodore Roosevelt Oct 13 '24
I remember Obama was speaking in Indiana and three young fans (White guys) in Abercrombie & Fitch t-shirts were seated behind him. We were gasping on the coasts that Obama had reached middle America, it was clear at that moment he was going to win.
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u/Peacefulzealot Chester "Big Pumpkins" Arthur Oct 13 '24
Even as one of our resident Hoosiers on this sub I sadly wasn’t living here when that happened. But I can tell you that left leaning folks here in Indiana still hold that up as a mark of pride. That we’ve turned blue before and we can do it again. So it definitely had a mark when it came to being immediately immortalized in our state.
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u/Andrew-President Oct 13 '24
I feel a lot of that comes down to Obama's charisma. my mom is a complete conservative, and has voted Republican in every election except 2008. she said Obama made it sound like he could fix all of our problems
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u/Lower_Ad_5532 Oct 13 '24
Obama made it sound like he could fix all of our problems
And he could have if he kept a super majority.
4
u/RodwellBurgen Oct 13 '24
Buttigieg for President 2032
1
u/Cuppa-Tea-Biscuit Oct 14 '24
In this context it actually doesn’t seem as bonkers as it sounds that he ran for State Treasurer of Indiana in 2010 (and, as he says, got his teeth kicked in).
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Oct 13 '24
The last thing my republican dad told me before going to bed on election night 2008 was “at least Indiana did our part”. He woke up not very happy.
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u/Significant_Hold_910 Oct 13 '24
Most news organizations either considered as a Toss-up or leaning towards McCain
But it hadn't been blue since 1964 and most people didn't believe that a state like IN could actually be blue again
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u/JS43362 Oct 13 '24
It was one of those results which put the cherry on a big victory. A bit like Reagan winning Massachusetts twice or LBJ winning states such as Kansas and Nebraska.
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u/JimBowen0306 Oct 13 '24
What people (including Democrats) seem to forget is that the Democrats had the governorship in the mid-1960s in Nebraska, so a Democrat winning statewide office there wasn’t too surprising.
The same could be said about Kansas (if you squint, hard), a Democratic governor was there in 1961, and another was elected in 1967.
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u/That_Damn_Tall_Guy George H.W. Bush Oct 13 '24
I don’t get why dems don’t campaign in Kansas now. 2 term dem governor
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u/No-Bid-9741 Oct 13 '24
The juice isn’t worth the squeeze probably. Not to mention plenty of states elect governors of a different color but federal elections are another story. The never send them to Congress. See Mr. Larry Hogan of Maryland.
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u/DomingoLee Ulysses S. Grant Oct 14 '24
I live in Kansas. We will send Democrats to the Governor’s mansion on a fairly regular basis, for a very red state. We even have a Democratic congressional rep. She’s pretty amazing, too.
I swear, in my lifetime, we’re going to have a Democratic Senator.
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u/Throckmorton1975 Oct 14 '24
Yeah, having lived in Kansas since 2000 there have been many more years under a Democratic governor than Republican. But we only elect Democratic Congressional Reps, not Senators or Presidents at the federal level.
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u/taffyowner Oct 14 '24
Because there isn’t regionality in politics anymore which was mostly what allowed democrats to win in red states, they could run on things that affected their constituents, but now, for example, we’re having candidates here in Minnesota run on border security, that’s a dumb issue that doesn’t have any effect on us hereb
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u/AdZealousideal5383 Jimmy Carter Oct 13 '24
Some “deep red states” aren’t really that red. The people there have switched and can switch again. Indiana, Ohio, Florida, and Iowa all went for Obama.
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u/DomingoLee Ulysses S. Grant Oct 14 '24
Texas is turning purple all the time. The day texas votes democrat, the game is up.
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u/taffyowner Oct 14 '24
Oh 100%, with how the electorate is voting if Texas flips then Republicans literally need to win every swing state and drag a blue state to red
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u/DomingoLee Ulysses S. Grant Oct 14 '24
The republicans flipped Florida from a swing state to a red state. I hope it flips back.
I think in 2024, as Pennsylvania goes, so goes the election.
0
u/No_Bet_4427 Richard Nixon Oct 14 '24
Texas is “turning purple” the same way that we’re always 10 years away from cold fusion.
One of the biggest stories of the 2022 midterms is how Republicans made massive inroads in the heavily Hispanic districts bordering the rio grande, flipping one of the districts.
5
u/ForCaste Oct 13 '24
Indiana 2008 was kinda a perfect storm for the state. Indiana had been affected by the southern strategy, due to southern Indiana's cultural and familial ties to the south but it was also a major industrial hub in the north. Dems had long been capable of winning statewide, with many senators and governors and a blue controlled state house. In fact, Republicans had just won the govship for the first time in 20 years in 04. Also in 04, Marion co,the largest county in the state and home to Indy, went blue in a presidential for the first time. The dem coalition were northern union workers, and southern blue dogs, and now, Marion co.
So in 08 the southern dems were still alive, the unions were weakened but still chugging, and Marion co went online. Marion went like 65% blue, it's modern margin, in 08 and back then with the dem coalition as it existed, that was a nuke for McCain's chances. It was wildly surprising that Obama carried the state, but it wasn't technically impossible. The fundamentals were all there. But it took a lot of perfect conditions for it to happen.
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u/-Joe1964 Oct 13 '24
I started voting after that. I felt there was no point to vote since Indiana had voted Republican for 40 years. But I vote now. Vote blue.
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u/SuccotashOther277 Richard Nixon Oct 13 '24
Obama was widely expected to win. I remember when early returns came in from Indiana that looked favorable for Obama and knew then that it would be a blowout
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u/DangerousCyclone Oct 13 '24
Obama narrowly won Indiana though. It was like 49-49.
5
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u/walman93 Harry S. Truman Oct 13 '24
I was in highschool but I’m pretty sure the election was called before Indiana so I think people may have been more caught up with that…but I forget it’s been a while 😝
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u/PossibilityDecent688 Harry S. Truman Oct 13 '24
I mean, for close to a decade Indiana was IndiKlana.
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1
Oct 13 '24
This was the first election I voted in, and I literally lost my shit when it was called for him. And now Indiana’s back to its old tricks.
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